Back Issues To End 2014:(

I thought I'd write about my recent back issues while it's fresh in my head. After all, I started this blog as a diary of sorts to document my training, including my back situation.

On the bright side, I nearly made it though the whole calendar year without my back seizing up on me. I definitely fought tightness and some pain throughout (seldom do I not feel at least some tightness), but no episodes where the muscles spasm up and leave me debilitated. Until December 19th that is.

My back spasmed up on me during a ride in the Santa Monicas on Friday, December 19. After feeling fine climbing up Sullivan Canyon, I descended Hectic and felt it tighten up as I started to pedal up the short steep climb out immediately after the descent. I have a few thoughts on what contributed:

• I had a very awkward dab out on one of the rocky sections just prior to this
• I crashed pretty spectacularly a week prior at San Juan and in addition to breaking my pinky finger, I had bruises on my shoulder, ribs, knee, hip, and low back.
• Being beat up from the crash and having the broken finger along with the stress of Christmas shopping kept me from yoga class and the gym for the entire week between the crash and this ride

From what I've read, the back spasms up as a protective mechanism when there is injury/strain to the low back muscles themselves (typically from the syndrome of tight hamstrings and glutes opposing tight hip flexors), or from underlying issues. The underlying issues can be bulging discs pushing on nerves, or from joint/ligament trauma, etc. The fact that I have badly degenerative discs makes me believe that my lumbar vertebrae are susceptible to trauma due to lack of cushioning. In fact, I recall that when I saw an Orthopedic Back Specialist several years ago and he told me that I had the "...back of a 75 year old with a bad back", the MRI clearly showed bad degeneration of discs, but also scar tissue due to ligament trauma.

Based on all this, it's hard to say what exactly caused my back to spasm this time. It could have been one or all of these factors.

Did I learn anything from this? Well, if I were to go back in time I'd try to avoid that crash first of all. If I couldn't do that, I'd make sure to at least make sure I was limber before riding (or doing much else). I might even go get adjusted.

When the back does start to spasm, it's important to not strain things further and to ice and take some anti-inflammatory meds. Definitely helps. It's amazing to me how tight the low back muscles get when they spasm up. The surrounding muscles (hamstrings, hip flexors) also get pretty tight. Interestingly, the last few times I've had back spasms, it wasn't as painful or completely debilitating as in the past. However, it took me just as long to recover. It's usually at least 2 weeks off the bike while I try to conservatively treat, then trying easy, flat road rides and progressing from there. Once things start to feel like they are healing I feel a different sort of tightness where I still need to be somewhat careful, but can start to move.

For prevention, I think I've been doing the right things for the most part:

• Daily stretching of my glutes, hip flexors and hamstrings (and before, during and after rides)
• Yoga (for mobility, strengthening and for stress relief)
• Additional core strengthening (I can probably do a little more here)

Going forward, I'd like to do more cross-training. Swimming for sure, but also some weight-bearing activities (hiking and stair climbing), perhaps some lower body strengthening, though this still scares me. I need to be confident the exercises I choose aren't doing more harm than good.

On an unrelated note, Strava sent us these mini year in review videos with our stats. 129 rides, 290 hours on the bike, 2,500 miles and 384,000 vertical feet:

My 2014 Strava Story

Catching Up After Almost 2 Years! Pt. 1- Leadville

I thought I'd resume my blog but was truly surprised that almost 2 years had gone by since I'd written. The biggest surprise was that I didn't even do a ride report from Leadville. Quite a bit else has happened since then, including my search for a trail bike, Toyota announcing plans to move to a new North American HQ in Plano, Texas, my constant efforts to keep my back healthy, and lots of fun riding in between!

Leadville:
A bit anti-climatic to do a full blown ride report now, so I'll keep it fairly short. It was a great experience, especially since I was able to share it with good riding friends Charlie, Susan and Israel.

In this previous post I made it up to just before the race, so right to race day!

Here we are lining up way in the back because we're rookies.

Between the time it took to get to the start line, plus the backup on the St. Kevin's climb, we thought this probably cost us 15-20 minutes. No biggie for me, as I was just trying to finish, but that first cutoff can be tight. I think Susan made it by ~5 minutes, and I was just ahead of her! Here's a look at the mass of bodies at the start:

All I recall about the St. Kevin's climb was it was backed up pretty bad in spots, and I was practicing my track stands trying to avoid clipping out of my pedals. I just told myself to stay relaxed and conserve energy. Long day ahead!

Other memories:
I felt decent up the first few climbs then discovered how much of a road ride Leadville is. I recall not quite latching on with a group and regretting it when they disappeared out of sight. This happened a few other times throughout the day. I got into a group a couple times, other times I was road riding solo into a headwind, losing time and expending extra energy.

I remember the Powerline descent was pretty fun but a little sketchy, only because of the mass of people who were struggling with their descending skills. I latched onto a guy who was moving pretty fast, and the two of us picked our way past quite a few riders.

The Columbine climb was long and started out quite manageable, but when things got steep or loose, I was pretty much forced to walk because of how crowded the trail was around me. This was perfectly fine though. I would have walked much of it anyway. Some because it was just too steep or loose, some just to avoid spiking the intensity too much. I do recall feeling pretty happy reaching the top.

On the way back I remember getting tired climbing back up the lone singletrack trail. It didn't seem to be that bad of a climb, but I just felt like I hit a wall.

I remember more road riding and wind, then the Powerline climb. I was pretty darn tired by then, so it was just a nice hike. It was energizing to see all the volunteers at this point, and I did grab some Coke from them. Yum!

I don't remember much after this, except the descent around St. Kevin's had some fun parts, and this also meant I was getting close to the finish line. There was a climb back into town that I was dreading but wasn't so bad, then the finish, after 10 hours and 40 minutes!

Here are the stats on Strava:
Here's the group after the finish. Left to right: Israel, me, Charlie, and Susan:

And the famous buckle for finishing in under 12 hours:

Leadville was a really great experience. Definitely something I will look back at fondly for the rest of my life. Over 2 years have passed though, and I still don't feel any desire to do it again. One and done! I think if I had more confidence in my back and the ability to train more and harder, I might try to PR or even shoot for the 9 hour mark, but that doesn't seem possible right now.

I may do other endurance events though, and even other 100 milers. I'm hopeful I can keep my back healthy enough where I can train to the point of finishing more of these. I'd just be doing them for the fun and for new experiences though, so I think I'd pick some new ones with less road and more singletrack!

New Bike- Cannondale Trigger 29- 2

With my Ibis Mojo SL approaching 5 years in age, I started looking at different trail bikes to replace it and at the same time compliment my other bikes: a Salsa Spearfish (all-day endurance bike) and a Kona Raijin (singlespeed).  I was thinking about something a little more burly, only because the Spearfish does okay as a trailbike if needed, at least for the trails I most often ride, and actually so does the Raijin for that matter! Why have something that overlapped?  I was intrigued by 27.5 inch wheel models such as the Turner Burner and Banshee Spitfire, but didn't want to spend that much, because I likely wouldn't be riding this bike as often as the others.  I even thought about buying a Heckler when I saw frames on sale for $500.  About that time, Neil at The Path posted on STR about a Path/Cannondale test program.  Sponsored rider level discount, and they just wanted feedback and to help out on some shop rides in return.  I was intrigued.  I never really looked at Cannondales, but started researching the bikes offered and became even more interested.  I narrowed it down to the Jekyll EX and the Trigger 29, and finally decided on the Trigger after corresponding with Neil.  Here's a pic fresh from the shop:

First Impressions:  

-Burly looking (more so than I expected)

-Really solid feeling (even just tooling around the parking lot)

-Good looking color scheme

-Geometry felt comfortable right away, medium is good fit (I'm 5'9")

Standout components:

-Fox 34 CTD 130mm fork with 1.5 steerer- solid 

-Fox Dyad Dual shock- 130/80 mm- will be interested to see/feel this in action

-Hans Dampf Tubeless ready tires good spec, beefy

-Also excited about X9 type 2 rear derailleur

-Good to see 36/22 chainring setup in front for this bike

Weighed when I got home out of box w/o pedals- 32.4

Adjustments:

-Went tubeless on both tires- nice that rims were taped already, tubeless setup was really easy

-Slapped on Rockshox Reverb (nice that I already had a 31.6)!- I like the cable routing on the top tube for the dropper post

-Put on Shimano XT Trail pedals

-Installed bottle cage- was glad to have the ability to carry a bottle on the frame for energy drinks on longer rides

-Checked shock pressure- I noticed there is a fairly large discrepancy from the Owners manual supplement to the Cannondale iPhone 'Tune Your Ride'App, by > 50lbs. After reading some feedback from another Trigger owner on the forums, I went with lighter of the two(owners manual)

The final weight- 32.3 (going tubeless pretty much canceled out the additional weight of the Reverb)

The Rides:

I’ve ridden 1) Blackstar Motorway Maple Springs, and 2) San Juan with the back loop and Viejo Tie.

Climbing:

This bike climbs way better than I thought it would at over 32 pounds. I definitely feel the added weight (+6 pounds vs. my Spearfish), but the pedaling feels very efficient, especially with the suspension firmed up and set to 80mm.  On the steeper climbs of the Main Divide, the front didn’t wander, and traction was good.  It was nice, however to have a 22 small chain ring up front and be able to spin a lower gear when the grade approached 15-20%.  On San Juan, it was no trouble negotiating the switchbacks, and the bike got up and over some of the rock gardens on the back loop nicely.  I feel like I can climb nearly as fast, which is a surprise, but I do feel like the weight catches up eventually in terms of sapping my energy.

Here's a pic at the top of Motorway:

Descending:

This is the burliest bike I’ve ridden, and I definitely noticed a big difference in stiffness/stability on high speed, bumpy descents.  I plowed through the roughest sections of the Motorway like I never have before, and did a PR despite bobbling a few turns.  The bike did feel big, a bit heavy, and I felt I had to be more aggressive to move it around turns, but I think I also just need to get used to it.  It already felt better on the second ride down San Juan.  The bike was confidence inspiring on some of the steeper technical areas, and with the seatpost dropped, I never felt in danger of going over the bars.

Surprise component: the Magura MT2 brakes feel smooth and powerful.  I know these are lower end Maguras, but I’m impressed.

Cons:

The Trigger climbs very well for its weight, but it’s still a 32 pound bike.  The wheels feel solid, but I know Formula hubs are a little heavy, so a wheel upgrade might be in order.  The bike also requires more effort to maneuver, loft the front wheel over rocks, etc.

Will definitely have a great deal of fun continuing to see what this bike can do.  Can't wait for Summer and Fall to try Mammoth and Kernville!  

Funny story: a hiker on the back loop of San Juan thought the Dyad shock was a built in radio for the bike.  Here's a pic.  It is kinda crazy looking but seems to work!

Leadville Pre-Race

Race week finally arrived.  After riding on Saturday, and because we were leaving early on Wednesday am, I thought it would be good to ride Del Cerro on Monday instead of Tuesday.  That way, we could also do an easy ride in Leadville on Thursday before racing on Saturday and I should be well rested.

We hit the road as planned on Wednesday am and drove to Green River, UT, about 2/3 of the way to Leadville.
We stayed at a little motel called the Robbers Roost, which was inexpensive and adequate.  Israel and I woke up and had breakfast in a local coffee house, which had a cool feel to it, except the help wasn't real friendly.  Strange for Utah.  We then picked up Susan and it the road to Leadville.  The plan was to get into Leadville, scope out the situation with checking in, etc., do a little ride, then head out to our motel in Buena Vista.



We finally arrived to town and you can see Leadville maintained the feel of a historic mining town. Here are pics from 1879 and present:

During the check in, we ran into Sonya Looney, who Israel and I both have a little crush on. What's not to like right?  Hot, awesome endurance mountain biker, and from her blogs, seemed to be really cool.  Well, we're both even bigger fans now.  She was totally cool and not only let us both take pics with her, but she spent extra time talking to us, even though it appeared her crew was ready to move on.

We also stopped by the 'Herbalife Base Camp', which was right near the registration area.  Susan made arrangements for us to hang out there and also for us to get Herbalife 24 race kits.  Cool.

We headed out to ride and decided to go out for about an hour, maybe a little more.  After scoping out the options we set out to ride the first part of the course, and maybe check out the first part of the St. Kevins climb.  After circling around some and trying to find our way, we ran into a group of guys who were also heading out to climb St. Kevins and they invited us along.  We started up St. Kevins, and it was fairly steady, but there were a few steep sections. It felt good to ride, but I felt the altitude, especially when trying to catch my breath.  Maybe it was riding with those other guys, but we went a little harder than planned, and also quite a bit longer.  We ended up doing a 2-hour ride.  Not crazy or stupid but not part of the game plan either, knowing it's harder to recover in the altitude, and I am always better off with more recovery time.  Was good to get some anxiety out though.

Week Ending August 5- Tapering

After the Harding ride there was just a couple of weeks until the race, so it was time to taper.  Because I felt like I was behind and still trying to catch up, this meant keeping the frequency, but dropping the intensity and duration.

We did a pretty easy ride at Del Cerro on Tuesday, then a moderate PV road ride on Thursday.  For the weekend ride, Israel, Matt and I headed to Santa Monica and climbed Westridge, rode over and did the Eagle Rock loop, then came back and descended Sullivan Canyon.  The side singletrack sections in the canyon were really fun!  Was still a descent ride, but nothing too long or hard.

After the ride, I felt like I had done all I could to get ready for the race.  I had the setback in May, but gradually ramped up the volume until I felt like at least I had my base back.  Didn't think my high end was where I wanted, but with my goal to simply make sure I get the belt buckle and finish in sub 12 hours, I felt like I was in good shape.

Week Ending July 29- Harding

After Big Bear and with just three weeks until Leadville, I normally would have tapered more, but because of my time off in May, I thought it would be good to get another good training week in, then taper the last two weeks.

Did the usual Del Cerro on Tuesday and PV road ride on Thursday, then decided to do Harding to the peak on Sunday.  I thought Harding would be the closest thing we have here in So Cal to the Columbine climb.

The whole Leadville crew joined in for the Harding climb.  We started up and I felt pretty good. Charlie gapped me, but I put a gap on Israel and Susan.  I decided to push the pace up to Four Corners and made it up in 1:24.  Here's the obligatory bike shot up at Four Corners.

Though I felt pretty good during the climb to Four Corners, once we started climbing to the peak my legs soon reminded me that I would need to pace myself at Leadville.  I think most of my base fitness was back, but I was not ready to maintain higher intensities.  The good thing though was my back was holding up nicely.  All the yoga, stretching, massage and chiropractic work was paying off.  We all made it up to the peak and celebrated our last semi-big training ride.  Leadville was almost upon us!

  

Week Ending July 22- Big Bear

After the big road ride, it was really time to step it up for the biggest training ride yet.  Three weeks out from Leadville, we wanted to get a good 8-9 hour ride in.  Charlie and Israel and I met and decided to ride on the 50 mile marathon course in Big Bear.  It was ideal because it was at elevation, would be cooler than our typical riding spots (90+ that weekend in the Saddleback area), and it was actually a 25 mile course where we go back to the car to refill water and refuel.

Israel picked up Susan and I and we headed out to meet Charlie in Big Bear.  We parked near a golf course driving range, got ready and headed out for the first lap.  Israel was navigating on the Garmin, and we headed up the Fern trail, which was a bit technical, steep and difficult in spots.  We then caught the main 2N10 fireroad which was nice and steady.  On the backside of the loop there was a pretty difficult singletrack climb which looped us back on to to fireroad.  Susan was having a difficult time with a cold, so Israel and Charlie and I were doing some up and backs to keep moving and get more ride time in.  There was some fun singletrack on the way back, which made the loop even more enjoyable.  We got back to the car in about 3:45.  Susan was also having a difficult time with her hand, so she chose to do her own thing for the remainder of the day.  Israel, Charlie and I did a second lap, though this time instead of climbing up Fern, we climbed the road next to Bear Mountain (steep) which turned into fireroad and eventually got us back on the loop.  I was actually feeling pretty good at this point, which was encouraging.  We finished the loop this time in about 3 hours.  We needed about 2 hours to get in 8 hours of ride time, which we were determined to do.  This time, we headed up the road again and the fireroad, and decided to keep going until we hit 7:30 of ride time, then turn around.  When we made it back, we ended up with 8:15 of ride time.  It was a great training ride, and by far was the best  I'd felt since my back went out in May.  Super encouraging three weeks from the race.